Snooker champ Pankaj Advani wanted to be a pilot!

A pilot, a mathematician, or even a museologist — these famous personalities had big and bright ideas even while growing up.

Pankaj Advani
Billiards and snooker player
“I wanted to be a pilot, so I could travel the world. When I found out that there’s a lot of studying to be done, I happily dropped the idea. But my dream of travelling came true through my game.”

Shashi Kiran Shetty
Chairman, Allcargo Logistics


(Image: BCCL)

“I grew up in a small town, near Mangalore. Exposures and opportunities were limited in India in the ’70s. But I had the zeal and passion to make it big — I dreamt of going abroad and working in a developed country like the US or UK, or may be Singapore...Do something glamorous in that sense.”

Samyukta Nair
Head, design and operations, The Leela



“When I was growing up, I wanted to become an artist. I enjoyed endless hours playing with colour and craft materials to create something from scratch and distinctively on my own. My roots in hospitality and passion to create has culminated into a diverse work portfolio.

Paresh Maity
Artist



“I remember standing inside a Durga puja pandal in my native village of Tamluk, West Bengal, and watching the sculptors create a beautiful Durga idol out of clay. I was seven at the time and that experience changed my life. I wanted to be like them even though I didn’t know what painting or sculpting meant. I wanted to be an artist. In fact, I borrowed some clay from them and started making clay toys. In a few years, I started selling them in the village fair.”

Radhika Aggarwal
Co-founder, Shopclues



“My father is an ex-army officer-turned entrepreneur, which motivated me to follow his path. I am a firm believer in small things adding up to create a masterpiece. It’s just about finding that passion and everything else eventually falls into place. I always say I'm an accidental entrepreneur, because entrepreneurship wasn't so much a conscious decision as it was an opportunity that came to me and I just kept doing what I had to do.”

Adwaita Nayar
Head, Retail, Nykaa



“I’ve always been very quantitative and I loved math. So, I always wanted to be a quantitative engineer of sorts. But it never happened. I am happiest when looking at math problems though. I majored in math.”